Continuing the epic story of the struggle between poor and rich as told in the first volume of The Ecclesiastical Chronicles, Raymond Gordon's new novel, The Society, returns to the polished pews of St. Patrick's Church in the village of Abersthwaithe on the small island of Ischalton. Following the scandalous inability of the Board of Advisers to the Vestry to honor their financial commitment to build a new, "improved" church in nearby Brewster's Village, the Bishop has made the group defunct. Even so, the members who formed the board, along with their newly recruited henchmen, continue their surreptitious plan to eradicate the "stench of serfdom" from St. Patrick's Church. Personal conflicts, the quest for acceptance, concupiscence, the struggle for control, and "civil war" among the peasants once again cast their dark, sinister shadows over the church, thus proving that although pious humans may have a greater proclivity to moral rectitude, they nevertheless possess an innate and ironic propensity to degeneracy. The Ecclesiastical Chronicles offers a profound and sobering look at how hypocrisy and self-righteousness can destroy the foundation of Christ's work, resulting in misery for all.